FBI Says ISIS Was Behind Foiled Mass Shooting Plot on Election Day
The FBI has confirmed that ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, orchestrated a foiled terrorist plot aimed at carrying out a mass shooting on Election Day in the U.S. The plot was foiled after the FBI arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year-old Afghan man, in Oklahoma last week. Tawhedi was planning to purchase two AK-47 rifles and target large crowds on Election Day.
Tawhedi was in communication with a person he knew as “Malik,” who was affiliated with ISIS-K. The FBI tracked Tawhedi’s activities, including his donations to an ISIS-connected charity and his viewing of ISIS propaganda online.
Tawhedi had previously worked as a security guard for the CIA in Afghanistan but did not undergo thorough vetting for special immigrant status (SIV). U.S. officials initially claimed he had been vetted three times, but it was later revealed that the third check never occurred. He entered the U.S. in September 2021 following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A family member of Tawhedi, a 22-year-old Afghan national, was also arrested in Paris for planning a separate attack. The individual was arrested along with two other people, and investigations uncovered evidence of radical ideology and planned violent actions targeting individuals at a football stadium and shopping center.
